Trade ministers from 12 countries are discussing possible
exemptions from rules letting foreign companies sue governments
over damage to investments as they try to wrap up talks on the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

No final consensus has been reached on whether any exclusion
would target only tobacco companies or shield a wider range of
government regulations from legal action, but Australia's Andrew
Robb is optimistic about his country's push for a broad
carve-out for both health and environmental regulations.

"I think we're on track, but there's not a final decision
yet," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Atlanta meetings.

Excluding an industry such as tobacco from protections for
foreign investors would cheer anti-smoking groups and many of
the U.S. Democratic lawmakers who have bucked union pressure to
support President Barack Obama's trade agenda.

A group of 11 pro-trade Democrats, who helped pass key trade
legislation earlier this year, wrote to U.S. Trade
Representative Michael Froman on Wednesday, urging him to make
sure tobacco disputes are excluded from TPP rules.
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